And I'm going to Don't come on here.

Don't come on here. As many of you know, today is the bibian anniversary of the occupation of Alta Tras Island by American

Indian Activists, which began in the early morning hours of November 20,

1969.

On that day, 50 years ago, activists who formed the group Indians of all tribes crossed what is now called San Francisco Bay

from present day Sasolito to Alcatraz Island.

Citing the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie,

they claimed the island as unused federal land after the 1963 closure of Alcatraz

Penitentiary and proposed to build a series of native-run educational and spiritual centers on the

island. They also use the occupation

to call attention to the many broken treaties

between American Indian nations and the US federal government

and the historical and ongoing settler colonial violence and oppression against Native people.

These important actions were a significant turning point in Native activism and one that ushered in a new era of American

Indian protests.

The more recent indigenous-led protests

against the Dakota Access pipeline

were similarly significant, calling national attention

to a continued fight against US settler colonialism

and resource extraction projects

that unevenly target native land and communities.

These events are connected as two moments

...